Things Are Getting Sketchy

Recently, I heard about a blog and online scrapbooking store called "Paper Issues". They carry all my favorite brands, have coupons, and their blog has sketches! I love sketches. They really help when my creative juices aren't there. Even when my pages don't turn out exactly like the sketch (which I usually prefer anyways) it helps by giving me a jumping off point. This month I participated in their Saturday sketch challenge. Here's their sketch...

 

March sketch

And here's my page...

 



 There are a few obvious differences; I only used one photo and have two rows of squares instead of three, but I was really inspired by their sketch. I kept the stitched lines, the basic grid concept, and the title's in the same spot. I've had this photo since last September and wanted to make sure it ended up on a pretty page since it's me with my favorite three (soon to be four) year old. The paper is Maggie Holmes' 'Flea Market' line. I love the pink, mint, and gold together.

Banner Detail

I'm hoping this will lead to me scrapbooking more regularly. Whether it's on my own, with friends, or at a retreat next month. I hate when life gets in the way of me being crafty. ;)

December Daily 2012

It took me less than a year, folks! I don't think there's a single crafter out there who would consider themselves "caught up". So I'm not ashamed to say I just finished last year's December Daily album. I'm actually pretty proud I finished it before starting on this year's album. I've been trying to make a conscience effort to finish what I start or to stay more on top of things. Planning for this year's December album has already started. I know what book cover I'm using, the paper line has been chosen, and I've started a Pinterest board of some of the activities I want to do. It's actually a good resource since it links up to the original websites so it'll make it easier to check times and schedules for different events. I realize it's only September, but I'm a fan of making lists and I love the joy of the holidays. (If life was a cartoon, this is where I'd be holding hands with family and friends while circling a Christmas tree and swaying back and forth.)

Anyhow, here's a few pictures of my album as proof that I actually finished something. The papers and embellishments are pretty much all October Afternoon. They came out with a December Daily kit last year and it was awesome! It included a 8x8 paper pad, the mini book with pages and covers, TONS of embellishments, and a stamp set. Definitely worth the money.

The cover was just chipboard so I used a brown paint dauber and gave it a wood look.

 

The album came with dividers which I used to separate the weeks.



This day was 12/12/12 so I decided to go big and do twelve Christmas-y things in one day. I had to hustle to fit it all in, but it was fun to do.

A few times I was able to copy and shrink the program from that day's activity for the book (like this one for Christmas at the Zoo). I like adding the interactive element and being able show more detail about what we did.

The "cookies" page was a flashcard from October Afternoon. It was great for adding more journaling on the backside. Plus, it's cute.

This "mini" album ended up being pretty full. I had to replace the rings that came with the book with shower curtain rings. It just goes to show we had a lot of fun during the holidays.

Project 12: August

I'm excited to be on the ball with Project 12 this month! August was a lot of fun and even though I love summer, I'm also looking forward to fall. To help me keep track of the month, I kept a list in my phone to help me remember everything I wanted to add as it happened. A few small things got cut, but all the good stuff was included. I also knew from the get-go what paper I wanted to use. It's all Crate Paper's "Pier" line with a few Project Life cards from the "Kraft" kit mixed in.

Here's the left hand page. It talks about the state fair, my first (and delicious I might add) zucchini bread, and a last minute trip to the horse track.

 

I really like using a photo as the title space. These plastic letters from Crate are really fun so I knew it'd have a cool effect on the page. I've also been using my roller date stamps more. It's good for a subtle way to note the date and I'm not gonna lie, it just plain looks cool.

Here's the right hand page. It features putt-putt, a baseball game, and a weekend at the lake. I tried to use a combination of detailed openings and some plain photos that had just a little embellishment.

 

 

I also included a 6x12 insert to add a few more stories this month. The front of the insert talks about my Dad collecting smurf happy meal toys for my sister and I. (It's a classic "Dad" move.) The back of the insert features my parents' trip to Denver to see my sister. I realize it wasn't my trip, but my Mom and sister took too good of pictures for me not to use them. Plus, I did get presents from the trip so that should count for something.

 

Like I said, there were too many good photos so the back insert also got an extra flap. Next month I'm taking a trip out there so there will definitely be another insert for October.

Project 12: July

I love summertime. I'm working on a Sn@p! album for the whole summer so I used my Project 12 spread to hit on the highlights. That includes Fourth of July at the lake, a short trip north, the Train concert with friends, the cottage getting an update, and the family's visit to the lake. I also tried something different with what supplies I used. Normally I'll use just one specific line, but this time I focused on what colors I wanted to use. So I went "shopping" through my stash and found reds, blues, whites, and pieces of kraft that I liked. Pieces from My Minds Eye (a couple different lines), Lillibee, and Project Life cards were used. 

 

 

Here's the left hand page. For our trip north, I printed four photos on one 4x6 so I could show one picture from each place we visited.



 

And of course the right hand page.

 

I used my typical letter stickers and sewing machine for this layout, but I also branched out and used my cameo to cut the Michigan shape and my typewriter to include a conversation via text message between my sister and I. I'm happy with how both turned out will definitely need to use them again.

 

 

I've Got the Blues

Happy CHA! It's exciting to see all the new paper lines that'll be coming out... it's also going to be a lesson in self control. Seriously, who needs to purchase three different Christmas lines in one year? Been there, done that. So this year I'm going to do better. *crosses fingers* I already didn't buy any 4th of July papers, I went last year without buying Halloween paper, and the goal is the same for this year. Anyhow, circling back around to CHA; Two Peas in a Bucket has challenges up now to go along with CHA. I saw the posting Wednesday night and I'm proud to say I finished a page last night for the first challenge of "use one color". I'm a sucker for water paper and most things blue so it seemed like a good jumping off point. Plus, we took a trip to the Dunes over 4th of July so I had some nice beach pictures.

The paper is Echo Park's "A Perfect Summer" and a piece from October Afternoon's "Midway". For the challenge you could use neutrals too so I mixed in kraft stickers from Crate's "Pier" line and the little wooden sailboat from Studio Calico.

Usually everything gets inked with my Chestnut Roan chalk ink, but this time I brushed a white paint dauber along all the edges. The paint reminds me of white caps and then the splatters make me think of ocean spray. Isn't it amazing sometimes how much thought goes into our pages?

 

 

Project 12: June

I'm back on track with Project 12! Other projects not so much, but one thing at a time. I'm making a special 6x8 book for all the summer festivities so I used this June spread as a way to highlight the basics. The other book will have more detail and journaling. This month had game night, garden surprises, and two weekends at the lake. The paper used is Echo Park's "A Perfect Summer" line. A lot of the sticker embellishments are theirs too, plus my usual October Afternoon letters. (Might have to get more soon, my "e's" are getting low in certain colors.

 

Here's the left hand page and some detail close ups. It talks about game night and around the house stuff.

 

Here's the right hand page. Left portion of it is a weekend at the lake with my parents and the right portion is when my friend and her family visited the lake. These are just a few of my favorite pictures. The 6x8 book will have a lot more photos.

 

For the two bottom slots, I did 4x6 collage photos so each one shows three 2x4 photos. That way I could show more pictures. Keeping it simple and focusing on the pictures.

 

Project 12: May

My week of no computer has come to an end. It's fixed and back so now I can post my May Project 12 layouts. I had them done in time for the Gossamer Blue contest, but couldn't get them posted. It was the first time I didn't have it up by the due date, but I had it finished so I figured that's what matters.

 

I've noticed there's definitely a trend going thru my Project 12 pages... outside pictures. Lots and lots of pictures of my yard. This month I was able to throw in some pictures from a night out with friends and lake pictures. The papers are a combination of Echo Park's "Photo Freedom volume 1" and their new "Here and Now" line.

 

 

Here's a close up of the left page. It's all about starting my garden and working/playing around the front yard.

 

 

The right page talks about summer starting and opening the lake cottage. I like that this month gave me more opportunity for writing. An upside of using premade 3x4 cards.

Cruisin' on the Lake

I'm excited to say... SUMMER IS HERE! Our boat is in the water, the cottage is open, and water-themed papers are in the scrapbook stores. I'm a sucker for summer paper lines. Echo Park, Simple Stories, Crate Paper; I love it all. We have over 60 years worth of lake pictures so I don't have too much guilt buying summer papers. Plus when you add up all the Florida vacations, Cape Cod vacations, and other trips; I have plenty of things to use those papers for. Crate Paper recently posted a challenge to make a "Summer Splash" project so I gathered some papers and made a lake page.

 

The pictures are of my Grandpa and Dad on the lake skiing. I love these old photos. It's funny to see the older boats since we've upgraded quite a bit since then. As my dad likes to say, "I have a boat with enough horsepower to get me out of the water." He's a bigger guy so I think the horsepower is 200 and something. We used to have a 75. :)

 

I'm in love with these chipboard slides. A ton comes in a package so I didn't mind using three on one page. I still have plenty left to play with. I'm already starting to plan which lake page to do next. YAY, SUMMER!

National Scrapbooking Day inspiration

Everytime National Scrapbooking Day come around, I have such good intentions of participating in ALL the challenges from Two Peas in a Bucket... and it never happens.  It always feels like a cool accomplishment when I get something finished and submitted to a challenge. This year I only finished one, but the nice thing is I still have the sketches and inspiration for the others I was going to try. So it's not a total loss, I just won't get the virtual badges I was working towards. (Yes, I'm that big of a dork.) Pagemaps has some fun challenges going right now and I'm going to try to do more with the ones Two Peas always has up. I want to get back into the rhythm I had for awhile of submitting a couple a month. Any who, here's the one I finished last week.

 

I finally used last summer's Little Yellow Bicycle "Splash" line that I HAD to have. It really is a fun line and perfect for lake pictures. This is a page about my sister and I tubing. We thought we were pretty cool stuff... which we were of course. ;) Definitely good memories.

 

Twelve pages down... one million to go. (Maybe not a MILLION, but you know what I mean)

 

 

This is what 12 finished pages after a scrapbook retreat looks like. The weekend at Quaker Haven was probably the best birthday I've had in awhile. I was with one of my best friends, her mom, and my mom. Plus on my birthday I received text messages and phone calls from some of my favorite people. The weekend was cold and rainy most of the time, but the lake really needed the rain so I didn't mind at all. Truthfully, it was like an extra birthday present. Nothings better than being at the lake scrapbooking so I'm already looking forward to the fall retreat.

Here's a quick rundown of the pages I finished over that weekend. Figured I'd show them in one big swoop, otherwise I might never get them all posted.



1990's Spring Break page using Echo Park's "Paradise Beach" line.

 

Page using My Mind's Eye.

Disney page using My Mind's Eye "Boy Crazy" line.

Universal Studios page using Basic Grey's "Bowties".

Another Universal Studios page with "Bowties".

 

Page about my mom when she was little using Echo Park's "Sweet Girl" line.

Simple Stories line from last summer.

October Afternoon's "Cakewalk" line.

October Afternoon's "Midway" line. LOVE these papers!

October Afternoon's "9 to 5" line.

Crate Paper's "Pretty Party" line.

I'm really proud of how this page turned out. It's a mixture of paper lines because I knew I wanted it to be yellow and blue, so I went "shopping" thru my papers. It uses some Crate Paper "Random", Fancy Pants, My Mind's Eye, and vellum from a Dear Lizzy Line. The splatters are from Heidi Swapp (her gold spray) and then more gold embellishments from Dear Lizzy and American crafts were added. It just plain makes me happy. :)